The hackathon is focused on the problems of social importance identified by 29 ministries and departments of the government. They identified 598 problems, which 7,531 teams of approximately 42,000 students responded to. Of them, 1,266 teams of 10,000 participants were shortlisted for the finale. The event started at 8 am on Saturday across 26 locations in the country.

Below are the live updates :

11: 07 pm: PM Modi tweets about his interaction with the participants.

In my speech, I highlighted the importance of technology, research & innovation and why it is essential to embrace them in this century.

10:45 pm: PM concludes his interaction saying hard work, enthusiasm, energy of the youth will now fill strength in New India. He said during freedom struggle, people constantly thought about doing something to fight for independence and now, people should have the dream of New India and should strive towards it.

10:35 pm: A student from Kolkata recommends a policy of engaging engineering students to serve in rural areas. PM lauds the idea.

A girl suggests distribution of free or low-cost sanitary napkins in rural areas.

A moment of levity as the PM jokes about union minister Gadkari engaging the team Nagpur for road projects @htTweets

10: 30 pm: A student from Raipur suggests an idea of generating electricity using the weight of automobiles. Another participant from Nagpur talks about developing an app similar to Ola and Uber for ambulance service for Highways.

Geo-fencing can enable the Swachh Bharat mission more effectively @htTweets

10: 15 pm: He said, “When you are innovating you may face setbacks but do not let those setbacks lower your morale or dampen your spirits.” He stated that quality is the key while undertaking innovative work and said good quality products will bring changes in the lives of many people.

10:13 pm: Technology has made things so much simpler: PM

Technology and innovation are powering so many changes. Things like floppies, tape recorders and walkmen are history: PM at #sih2017

10: 10 pm: Addressing the participants, PM said, “I am confident the outcomes of what my young friends are doing will lead to very positive results.” He emphasized on ‘internet of things’ and highlighted the changed in the world brought by invention of artificial intelligence, 3D technology.

10:09 pm: PM Modi said a series of issues have been placed before our youth to work on. The issues are challenging but it is also an opportunity. He said to thin that all solution resides with the government is a myth. He called for all to work together to look for solution.